First Year Investment of Ontario's Four-Year Math Strategy Announced

Major Commitment to Math Improvement Will Promote Student Success and Teaching Excellence by Going Back to Basics

TORONTO — Ontario's Minister of Education announced the details of the new four-year $200-million math strategy to get back to basics and make sure students and educators have the math skills and resources to succeed in the classroom and beyond.

"As the recently-released EQAO results confirm, our students are still struggling to meet provincial math standards," said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education. "We will never accept the status quo, we are demanding better for our kids by investing in a landmark multi-year strategy that will, from day one, help our students and educators build the confidence and knowledge to excel in math."

The government announced details of the first year of funding under the new $200-million math strategy - beginning with an initial investment of $55 million in the 2019-2020 school year. This investment will support critical programming and resources for students and educators alike, by focusing on teaching fundamentals.

These investments will:

Provide funding to all school boards in the province to hire math-learning leads to coordinate and support board-level improvement efforts;

Invest in extensive training and coaching in over 700 targeted elementary and secondary schools, providing educators with direct access to experts and evidence-based instruction to develop the knowledge and pedagogy for better equipping students to succeed in math;

Expand online tutoring programs for students to make sure opportunities for high-quality math instruction is not limited to the classroom;

Deliver $6 million in support for summer learning programs to prevent learning loss;

Ensure new teachers entering the profession have the skills to teach math, and involve math in their teaching where appropriate, through investments in professional development for educators dealing with math proficiency; and

Contribute $4 million to subsidize additional qualifications (AQ) math courses for teachers, which will further build skills and confidence for educators at the front of the classroom.

Quick Facts

Overall, provincial performance results based on EQAO assessment of mathematics have shown a decline in recent years in both Grade 3 and Grade 6.

Grade 9 assessment results, particularly for students enrolled in applied mathematics courses, show the need to improve math performance to equip students with the knowledge and skills they need for success.

Over the next four years, Ontario is rolling out a revised math curriculum for all students in all grades that will focus on the fundamentals of mathematics and how to apply them.

Overall, the graduation rate continues to grow across the province. In 2018, the five-year graduation rate increased to 87.1 per cent – up from 86.3 in 2017. The four-year graduation rate is now 81.2 per cent – up from 79.8 in 2017.